Silent Era Information*Progressive Silent Film List*Lost Films*People*Theaters
Taylorology*Articles*Home Video*Books*Search
 
Foolish Wives BD
 
Silent Era Home Page  >  Home Video  >  Battleship Potemkin
 
Silent Era Films on Home Video
Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved.

Battleship
Potemkin

(1925)

 

Sergei Eisenstein’s greatest achievement of the silent era has long been recognized as a world cinema masterpiece.

Originally commissioned to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1905 Socialist uprising, Eisenstein’s film focused on the mutiny of the crew of the armored cruiser Potemkin. In the process, Eisenstein continued his boldly-conceived filmmaking style of close-ups and rapid cutting that he explored in his first film Strike (1924) for his telling of the crew’s human-rights struggle.

The film was recently restored as close as possible to its original finished state, including all of Eisenstein’s intertitles and 1374 original shots, as it was before Eisenstein was required to censor his own intended version before the film’s December 1925 Russian premiere. The excised material survived the years in untouched original prints struck by German distributor Prometheus from the original German negative before it was also censored and edited in 1926 and again in 1928. The restoration was a 20-year-long collaborative effort of Deutsches Kinemathek in Germany, with support from the Gosfilmofond film archive of Russia, the Bundesarchiv film archive of Germany, and the British Film Institute.

Carl Bennett

coverKino International
2010 Blu-ray Disc edition

Battleship Potemkin (1925), black & white, 69 minutes, not rated.

Kino International, K681, UPC 7-38329-06812-7.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 Blu-ray disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) progressive scan AVC (MPEG-4) format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 5.1 surround sound and Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, Russian and English language intertitles, English language subtitles, chapter stops; standard BD keepcase in cardboard slipcase; $34.95.
Release date: 20 April 2010.
Country of origin: USA

This Blu-ray Disc edition of the definitive restoration of Sergei M. Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin (1925) includes the restored film transferred in high-definition, including all of the footage edited from the film before its premiere in its original and intended sequencing with all of the original Russian intertitles in their correct order.

The film is accompanied by a 5.1 surround sound presentation of the German premiere music score composed by Edmund Meisel (which was overseen by Eisenstein), arranged by Helmut Imig and performed by the 55-piece Deutches Filmorchestra.

If you have made the leap to Blu-ray Disc, this one will be the home video edition for your collection.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.
coverKino International
2007 DVD edition

Battleship Potemkin (1925), black & white, 69 minutes, not rated.

Kino International, K558, UPC 7-38329-05582-0.
Two single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD discs, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 5.1 surround sound and Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, Russian and English language intertitles, English language subtitles, 20 chapter stops; cardboard wrap with plastic DVD trays in cardboard slipcase; $29.95.
Release date: 23 October 2007.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 9 / audio: 9 / additional content: 7 / overall: 9.

This exciting two-disc DVD edition of the definitive restoration of Sergei M. Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin (1925) includes the restored film transferred in high-definition, including all of the footage edited from the film before its premiere in its original and intended sequencing with all of the original Russian intertitles in their correct order.

The results are very impressive for a reconstuction, with a reasonably consistent range of greytones and image quality throughout, despite being conflated from a number of 35mm negatives and prints. All restoration work was performed optically on filmstock rather than digitally. We do not know whether any digital clean-up was performed on the natural-speed HD video transfer. While there a sections of footage with moderate print wear, the majority of the film has a normal amount of dust, speckling, filmbase and emulsion wear that would be present in material of this vintage. The overall image quality is very-good to excellent.

As is detailed in the included documentary on the film, the shorter running time of this reconstruction is due to the natural-speed video transfer, while previous source prints (actually shorter in print length) were actually slowed down and reedited to fit the accompanying music. None of the jerkiness seen in those earlier sound-film prints is present in the restoration print and, thus, in this edition.

Two versions of the film are presented in the set. First, the reconstructed film with Russian intertitles (with optional English intertitles). Second, the reconstructed film with English intertitles. Our preference when watching the film alone is for the Russian intertitles, and the English intertitles version when sharing a viewing with others.

The film is accompanied by a 5.1 surround sound presentation of the German premiere music score composed by Edmund Meisel (which was overseen by Eisenstein), arranged by Helmut Imig and performed by the 55-piece Deutches Filmorchestra. Also included is a 42-minute German-language documentary (with English subtitles) on the making and restoration of the film with Enno Patalas, Naum Kleeman and Helmut Imig, and three photo galleries.

If you still collect films on DVD home video, this one will be the one for your collection — especially given the reasonable cost of this definitive two-disc set.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.
coverBritish Film Institute
2016 DVD edition

Battleship Potemkin (1925), black & white, 66 minutes, BBFC Certification PG,
with Drifters (1929), black & white, 39 minutes, not rated, Granton Trawler (1934), black & white, 11 minutes, not rated, Trade Tattoo (1937), black & white, 6 minutes, not rated, North Sea (1938), black & white, 32 minutes, not rated.

British Film Institute, BFIV2100, UPC 5-035673-021002.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 2 PAL DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, 448 Kbps audio bit rate (5.1) and 320 Kbps audio bit rate (2.0), Dolby Digital 48 kHz 5.1 surround sound and Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, Russian language intertitles, English language subtitles, chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; £8.99.
Release date: 12 September 2016.
Country of origin: USA
This PAL DVD edition has been prepared from a new restoration of the film.

The film is presented with the 1926 Edmund Meisel score.

The supplemental material includes Drifters (1929) John Grierson’s acclaimed film that follows a herring drifter, from departure in Scotland to market in East Anglia; Granton Trawler (1934) John Grierson’s follow up to Drifters, one of the GPO Film Unit’s first experiments with sound; Trade Tattoo (1937) Len Lye’s celebratory animation made from off-cuts of EMB and GPO films, including Drifters and Night Mail; North Sea (1938) Harry Watt’s dramatic reconstruction of sea farers battle with the elements, produced by the GPO Film Unit.

North American collectors will need a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.

 
United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 2 PAL DVD edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.
 
This Region 2 PAL DVD edition is available directly from . . .
coverCorinth Films
1998 DVD edition

Battleship Potemkin (1925), black & white, 74 minutes, not rated.

Corinth Films, distributed by Image Entertainment,
ID4574CODVD, UPC 0-14381-45742-1.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), 5.5 Mbps average video bit rate, 1536 Kbps audio bit rate, PCM 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, Russian language intertitles, English language subtitles, 12 chapter stops; snapper DVD case (reissued in standard DVD keepcase); $24.99.
Release date: 7 October 1998.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 7 / audio: 5 / additional content: 0 / overall: 6.

This early DVD edition, from Corinth Films (U.S. distributor of the film), has been transferred from a positive print struck from a 35mm Russian preservation print. The source print appears to be comprised of 35mm and 16mm elements, and some surviving shots are rougher than others, but the image generally ranges from good to very-good and is watchable. The film’s jerkiness is not the result of a subpar video transfer, but rather the result of the film’s low exposure frame rate at the time it was shot (an educated guess is approximately 12-14 frames per second) combined with its conversion to a sound film print (24 frames per second).

Our reevaluation of the disc on high-definition equipment still leaves us with an unchanged quality rating, but we note that the high-quality video transfer is only compromised by the shortcomings of the source print material.

The English language subtitles over the Russian intertitles were a part of the source print and thus cannot be turned off.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Films-sans-frontières
2006 DVD edition

L’Intégrale des films de S.M. Eisenstein (1923-1944), black & white, 784 minutes total, not rated,
including Battleship Potemkin (1925), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.

Films-sans-frontières,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
Four single-sided?, dual-layered?, Region 2 PAL DVD discs, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo? sound, Russian language intertitles, French and English language subtitles, chapter stops; four standard DVD keepcases in cardboard slipcase; €90,00.
Release date: 2006.
Country of origin: France
We have not viewed this PAL DVD edition, but have received reports that the visual quality ranges from very-good to excellent.

This edition features a music score by Edmund Meisel.

North American collectors will need a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.

 
France: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 PAL DVD edition from Amazon.fr. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
coverDelta Entertainment
2004 DVD edition

Battleship Potemkin (1925), black & white, 72 minutes, not rated,
with Sergei Eisenstein 1898-1948 (19??), black & white, 46 minutes, not rated.

Delta Entertainment, 82 341, UPC 0-18111-23419-1.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), 4.5 Mbps average video bit rate, 1536 Kbps audio bit rate, PCM 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, Russian language intertitles, English language subtitles, 5 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $6.99.
Release date: 24 February 2004.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 5 / audio: 4 / additional content: 5 / overall: 5.

We must report that this budget DVD edition has been mastered from a VHS videotape copy of the same video master as the Image edition above. There is some visual evidence of the lack of resolution common to VHS as is the inherent oversharpening of some white image edges. That being said, we have seen far worse examples of DVDs mastered from VHS. This disc will be watchable to undiscerning eyes. The video transfer has been made at a natural pace, and since the camera was originally cracked at a low frame rate of approximately 14-16 frames per second the action is a little jerky. As above, the English language subtitles over the Russian intertitles were a part of the source print and thus cannot be turned off.

The film is presented with the latter day music score composed by Dmitri Shostokovich that is common to today’s sound-projection prints of the film.

The sole supplementary material is an older documentary on director Eisenstein that is mastered from a noisy, coarse, contrasty 16mm reduction print.

Ultimately, we cannot recommend this disc when the Image edition is of higher quality. Some collectors may choose to forgo quality for value.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
coverUnknown Chinese
200? DVD edition

Battleship Potemkin (1925), black & white, 75 minutes, not rated.

Unknown Chinese company (BoYing?),
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, English? language intertitles, Chinese language subtitles, chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase?; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 200?.
Country of origin: Chinese
This Chinese DVD edition may or may not be an authorized release of the US Corinth Films/Image Entertainment edition. The disc’s quality is probably rougher than the Image edition.

 
This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition is . . .
Other silent era SERGEI EISENSTEIN films available on home video.

Other RUSSIAN and SOVIET FILMS of the silent era available on home video.

 
Silent Era Home Page  >  Home Video  >  Battleship Potemkin
 
Lodger BD
Become a Patron of Silent Era

SUPPORT SILENT ERA
USING THESE LINKS
WHEN SHOPPING AT
AMAZON

AmazonUS
AmazonCA
AmazonUK

When Knighthood Was in Flower BD/DVD

Battleship Potemkin BD

Strike BD

Strike DVD

Bolshevik Trilogy BD

Landmarks of Early Soviet Film DVD

Fragment of an Empire BD

Madame DuBarry BD

Stella Maris BD

Three Ages / Hospitality BD

Pandora's Box BD

Browning's Shockers BD

Johnstown Flood BD

3 Musketeers / Iron Mask BD

Piccadilly BD

Spanish Dancer BD

Laurel & Hardy Year 1 BD

The Doll BD

Robin Hood / Black Pirate BD

Sky High BD

Michael BD

Johannna Enlists BD

Foolish Wives BD

Wolves / North BD

Paths to Paradise BD

Oyster Princess BD

The Trap BD

Oh Doctor BD

Cigarette Girl DVD

Miss Mend DVD

Charley Bowers BD

Metropolis BD

Metropolis DVD

Peter Pan BD

Sherlock Jr BD

Mysterious Island DVD

Chaplin at Keystone DVD

The General BD

L’Argent BD

Georges Méliès DVD

The Informer BD

Fairbanks DVD Boxset

Chicago DVD

Underground BD

Beyond the Rocks DVD

Valentino DVD

Our Hospitality (Lobster) BD

The Eagle BD

Chaplin Mutuals BD/DVD

The Last Warning BD

La Roue DVD

General / Steamboat Bill Jr BD

The Last Laugh DVD

Méliès Fairy Tales BD/DVD

The Circus BD

Prince Achmed BD

The Man Who Laughs BD

Der Hund von Baskerville BD

Uncle Tom's Cabin BD

Unknown Chaplin DVD

*